Mother explains how she caught an accused child predator

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -

The mother of a 12-year-old girl thought she was taking all the right steps to protect her daughter from the dark side of the Internet.

She never allowed her daughter on Facebook alone and she was in charge of the password and the content that was posted, but police say that didn't stop Brian Sikes, 23, from messaging her child with the intent of meeting for sex. The messages were quickly intercepted.

"I responded as her. I said, 'Hey', and from there on, Facebook messages came from me, pretending to be the 12 year old. I said, 'You are beautiful,' here is my number,' 'I am bored'. And then he began to text," said the child's mother.

The mother began working with police immediately and posed as the child on the phone to see how far Sikes would go.

"The first thing he said was, 'What's up sexy? And from there it went very nasty,'" said the child's mother. "He was sending disgusting pictures and videos with intentions to meet up with her for sex."

Throughout the exchange, the mother would even ask Sikes "U don't care I'm 12?" He would reply no. She kept the conversation going for nearly two weeks to ensure Sikes would be put behind bars.

"I kept it going because I knew he had very serious issues," said the child's mother.

She even posed as the child's stepsister and told Sikes to come meet them at the Target parking lot on Victory Drive, which is where police arrested him.

"So I called him and said what kind of vehicle to go to, which was the undercover vehicle, and as soon as he walked past the vehicle, that's when they arrested him," said the child's mother.

She's breathing a sigh of relief, but fears her child isn't his only potential victim.

"I was happy because he was off the street," said the child's mother. "It still doesn't make it any better because I know there are a lot of other girls that he has done this too and I feel a lot of them are not coming forward."

Investigators are still looking into this case and said there may be other victims. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers.

The mother wants parents to understand she was paying close attention to her child on Facebook and that this can happen to anyone. That's why parents need to be more aware. She hopes anyone else that has been hurt will come forward.